Kozinski's The Mind Of A Psychopath

The Mind of a Psychopath

Being a senior in high school can be tough, but once you get used to the routine, it becomes normal. However, sSomething felt off this day for Tammy Kozinski. The school was not allowing travel, and it seemed more quiet than usual. Overhearing teachers mumble things to each other, she knew something was happening that was bigger than it seemed. Not a word of the incident was said to any of the students until she went into her sociology class. Her teacher could not bare to keep it from the kids any longer.

“Well, students, things have been so weird here because there has been a mass school shooting.”

No sugar coating, the teacher told the students.

“Certainly being a highschool kid at that time was kind of

weird,” Tammy says, recalling hearing the news. On April 20th, 1999, two teenagers, Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris went into Ccolumbine Hhigh Sschool with guns and bombs. The bombs did not go off, so the two then opened fire upon the school. In the end they killed 13 and wounded more. They stopped this massacre by ending their own lives (Facts On File).“It could’ve been you. It kind of makes you think about who you hang out with and who’s in the school with you.” Being in high school is tough, but knowing you can be in that same situation is scary. It makes you think past the little town you live in and find deeper meaning in this strange world we live in. Eventually people start asking why someone could have done this, why anyone could have let this happen. What of the psyche of the students? Not just the survivors, but the one’s who committed this crime.

“I think that they never got any attention, that they were bottom of the totem poll and they wanted people to know their name.

They were probably depressed with mental issues and wanted to end it, so they figured why not take people out with them.” The best way to understand the massacre is to get passed all the stereotypes you hear of in high school. Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris were both different. They didn’t see the world like most people do. They both had different motives and different issues that would lead them to commit this “mass murder” as they wanted it to be. Dylan was easier to understand, he was the more familiar type. He was a depressed and suicidal; it didn’t help that he was also very hot headed (Cullen). “There are better ways to get your feelings out there. I’m sure they were bullied, but a gun is not the answer.” He was a follower because he was hurting on the inside and needed guidance, but the person who was there for him was a complete psychopath. “He lives down in a ribcage in the dry leaves of a heart,” a quote from The Silence of the Lambs, by Thomas Harris, perfectly describes Eric Harris. It is now commonly accepted that Eric was a psychopath. Not the kind that is seen in Hollywood or on T.V. A psychopath is simply someone who feels no emotion for

others.

When asked how the parents must have felt, Kosinski responds, “I’m sure denial was number one. It couldn’t be, it couldn’t be, I never would have thought, but then probably guilt. The signs they saw, but missed at the time and putting pieces together.” Harris nailed down the deceitfulness with his total lack of remorse or empathy,. aA very distinct quality in psychopaths. Psychopaths have a very distinct way of thinking. They are not normal people but they seem like one. Psychopaths are often slick characters who profess knowledge of many different things. They seem to make up conversation easily and are known to gain degrees without obtaining a high school diploma. Psychopaths see themselves as superior beings who deserve to be here more than anyone else. Most are power hungry and want more. They deserve to follow their own rules and anyone who steps in their way is irrelevant (Munro). Eric’s journal entries reveal signs that lead up to psychopathic tendencies. The journal opens with one sentence;"I hate the f---ing world." Eric even then still screamed hate from his website. "YOU KNOW WHAT I HATE!!!? Cuuuuuuuuhntryyyyyyyyyy music!!!; YOU KNOW WHAT I HATE!!!? People who say that wrestling is real!!; YOU KNOW WHAT I HATE!!!? People who use the same word over and over again!... Read a f---in book or two, increase your vo-cab-u-lary f*ck*ng idiots" (Cullen). Psychopaths have very poor behavior control. Usually short tempered and will burst at the any minor failure, frustrations and criticism. The outbursts usually are short and do not last long and a few minutes later they would be acting as if nothing had ever happened (Munro).

“I think you would want to side with your child.” Tammy says slipping into the shoes of the mother of the one of the shooters. “You’re always gonna want to take care of them first, depending on the extent, how much you’re gonna want to be there for the other side. Obviously that was an extreme extent. You would’ve lost your child in that case. That would be the only place to pour it into the other side.” Eric’s mother, not seeing that her kid had these issues, must have torn her up inside. Parents never really expect their kid to be a psychopath., I don’t think any parent does. When you have kids you just assume that they'll be just like themyou. No one ever truly knows how their kid will turn out. Maybe they’ll be a professional baseball player or a football star.! No one thinks that their son will turn out to be a murderer, let alone a full blown psychopath.

Columbine was different for generation Y.

It wasn’t just another terrible thing that happened to adults. Gen Y even witnessed the Oklahoma Bombing, which was a completely different experience. It didn’t hit the young generation because it was off in some office building. The Columbine shooting was a huge impact on them because it felt so close to home(Setoodeh). Students didn’t truly know fear until this. Knowing that their fellow students could be full blown psychopaths was a scary thought. Any kid could get a gun, come to school and start another mass killing. Now there are procedures that make sure nothing like that can happen, but some kids can still slip

through.

“Perhaps the saddest thing about reading "Columbine" is how it leads you into a game of "what if?" The parents of one of Harris's friends had reported his psychotic Web site to the police, but they never launched a full investigation or exercised a search warrant. Harris and Klebold took a friend to buy two shotguns and a rifle, but she never suspected anything. After the shootings, the sheriff's department held back the SWAT team from immediately entering. They assumed Harris and Klebold were still alive, holding hostages inside, and proceeded slowly from classroom to classroom. In that time, a wounded business teacher named Dave Sanders bled to death, while his students watched in horror and repeatedly dialed 911. It's not surprising that so many people were caught off guard--no other school shooting had ever come close to Columbine. It's now become part of the fabric of our lives, a one-word shorthand for mass tragedy.(Setoodeh)” Police action was cautious because they had no idea what was actually happening. As Dylan and Eric walked through the school slaughtering the students the police thought they were taking hostages. Police are more cautious because of procedures, they want the least amount of damage as possible. The police force would rather try to reason with attackers than let them slaughter more people.

The Columbine Shooting will always be remembered as a terrible shooting. Though Eric wanted it to be known as America’s worst massacre ever, it will still live on in the fear of all students. Given that through time the fear has worn off but the reality will forever be there that school shootings are a serious problem. Students shouldn’t feel the need to hide their feelings. Students should be able to speak to anyone about the problems they have. Life is hard and it only gets more difficult as time goes on. As kids get older, more responsibilities will pop up. Kids who have been medically signed off as depressed will most likely not feel motivated enough or even feel like they can’t handle the responsibilities that are inevitable. Schools should teach more students how to deal with the struggles of life. Maybe that should be brought upon by the parents but when schools keep students busy they have no time to comprehend it.

“There are better ways to get your feelings out there, but a gun is not the answer.” These parting wordsis quote from Kozinski areis simple, but the message is loud and clear. Anyone having trouble in life should seek help. Never be ashamed to seek it, in fact pursue it. Life is extraordinary and people need to come together to find themselves. Take care of each other and care, be respectful and love everyone.